Eisenhower Matrix
Sort your tasks by urgency and importance. Focus on what actually moves the needle.
Named after President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Popularised by Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Do First
Urgent + ImportantDo these immediately. These are your fires.
No urgent and important tasks — great sign
Schedule
Important, Not UrgentBlock time for these. This is where growth happens.
Add important but non-urgent tasks here
Delegate
Urgent, Not ImportantCan someone else handle this? If so, let them.
Tasks to consider delegating
Eliminate
Not Urgent, Not ImportantThese are distractions. Drop them.
Distractions to eliminate
A plain-language guide
Your stakeholder just called — the demo is tomorrow and it's broken. Fix it now.
Writing the project lessons learned document. Critical but the deadline is two weeks away.
Scheduling the next team meeting. Urgent because it needs to happen soon, but your assistant can handle it.
Reorganising your project folder structure for the third time this month.